It's Not About You (Sort of)

My blolleague Dee was throwing some raging bull over at the new Facebook designs.  She certainly was not the only one.  Some of the common refrains I have heard from those who were vehemently opposed to the new set up were they did not like the "rolling ticker" on the right hand side, basically allowing one to "stalk" their friend list and what they were doing (including liking, commenting and posting on their friends' walls, even if you were not on the friend list of that "other" friend), pictures in the main feed were larger than they were used to seeing, and just basic complaining about the drastic changes. 

I took a "wait-and-see" approach.  Humans are naturally resistant to change (especially for change they did not agree upon or made themselves consciously), so I tend to not jump in head first with the rest of the crowd typically. But for me, I don't mind the changes and think of it as a new way to view the people I've become friendly with over the years. 

I have not been using Google + basically because I find Facebook easier to use and more visually appealing.  This is more of a conscious I-don't-want-to-change decision, but also because I think Google is significantly more evil than Facebook is portrayed (especially with people information).  Google is a publicly traded company and has shareholders to answer to.  While Google has never charged its user base for use of basic items like Gmail and using their search engines, Facebook also has not and never plans to (despite what viral status updates you might read in your friend feed).

And don't get me started on MySpace (owned by the evil of the evil News Corp!), which I left probably before it was ever "cool" to jump from that ship.  I was always timed out on that piece of crap, and I found it incredibly tedious to use.  I knew the good it could do, but it was such a pain in the ass that I never wanted to log into the system.  Once I found Facebook, I took to it like a fish to water and never looked back.  I might be a little annoyed by some of their changes but it's a free service and it's enhanced my life for what I like to think to be the better (especially with the flow of information and people meeting I have done over the years as a direct result of it).

Since the new rollout, I haven't heard much from folks in the complaining aspects, but I don't know if that's a combination of complacency, people just not using the application as much or just getting used to things.  A few days ago I had a bunch of status updates of people requesting that I unsubscribe to their feeds.  I'm sorry...I love you people...but I have better things to do than go through each of my 400 friends and manually unclick themselves from my feed.  Not to mention, I really wouldn't know what was going on then!  My friend Matt Cerrone (who founded Metsblog and is a social media consultant) basically hit the nail on the head with this analysis on his Facebook wall:

Did Facebook fans actually forget this is a billion dollar business based on advertising and data collection? The reaction I see from non-tech people to what FB is doing is shocking... and the fact that some people think they can avoid the changes or game the system is down right hilarious...This is a savvy, aggressive company with serious goals in mind. They're an amazing organization, bordering on an institution, and to pretend otherwise is naive.

Just remember, when you post that you ate at Chipotle, or rooted for the Mets this weekend, or needed to go to Rite Aid to find batteries for your radio during the hurricane, Facebook is collecting those bits of information to have those corporations better target their audiences.  Meeting people and friending and networking is a fringe benefit we get from using the service.  

Here's my take on the ire: we get used to the changes that are made to the service over the years, and just accept them with maybe a little holding our nose and swallowing difficulty, but we do it.  We feel as though the changes are not about "us," the user of the system and essentially the consumer, but more for Facebook, a "billion dollar business" as Matt suggests above.  Well, you would be right.  Facebook doesn't give a crap about us, as people...they care about the information that we provide them that they are able to sell as advertising to MAKE MONEY and give themselves a product. 

But as the article link suggests above...we are the product, not the consumer.  And this is where our difference in thinking lies and potentially needs to change if we want to continue using the service.  If not, then try out Google + or get on the Diaspora waiting list.  But realize they use people information in the same vein as Facebook does, so don't be fooled that it somehow "gets better" or "is better." 

It's not about you, it's about them.  Them using information YOU give them, but don't be fooled it is about them. 

Google+ Survival Guide

We have Google Earth, Google Reader, Gmail, Google News, Google Maps...What's next? Google Galaxy? It's looking that way. How about a social layer? Well, okay!

From the last few weeks, does this conversation sound familiar to you?

"Anyone have an invite to Google Plus?" (Editor's note: usually listed as Google +)

"Hey...can you give me an invite to Google +?" (Editor's note: usually when you find out a friend has a few)

Having an entrepreneurial spirit, and knowing several sole proprietors and small business owners in the New York City area, the question I often get, or maybe even a matter-of-fact statement is..."I don't get it." I used to get that about Twitter, but now the item I get questions on is Google Plus, or Google +.

I have to say, even I am overwhelmed with this new technology. But Google +, like many other social media, has its pitfalls yet has it's bonuses as well. Since it's been released and widely sought out, I have had time to look at it and play with it. Like many other tools, there is a learning curve, but there's also been a ton of literature out on it as well, so allow me to digest it for you.

**As a disclaimer, I took a step back from Facebook and even Twitter for a short time (but it's tougher for me to stay away from Twitter, for whatever reason) to try to understand it better and process it all.**

From a marketing standpoint, businesses have been using Twitter campaigns to get their company message out to the masses as well as interaction on Facebook pages. Google + is trying to take the guesswork and tediousness out of those elements. I mean, if you think about it, having to manage your Twitter account and Facebook page as not only a writer or casual user or even a business owner, it takes a lot of time. David All, the Chief Creative Officer at David All Group, says there are six things marketers need to know about Google +.

Two things out of this list that can hold for businesses and personal use are creating "circles" and the "hanging out" feature. Circles are similar to "groups" you can create in Facebook, but it's supposedly easier in Google +, as you can take more control over it. Another cool nifty aspect of Google + is the hang out feature, as you can actually now have video chats with up to 10 people at the same time. Since I am pretty Attention Deficit Disorder about this stuff, I doubt that would be helpful to me...but Facebook recently added a video chat layer with Skype. Apparently, this layer is synonymous with "jumping the shark." But of course, since I believe that blogging is a dying art form (as I'm blogging about it), video chats could be indeed the next wave of the future.

Mostly, a lot of what All brings up is common sense. I've said before that I took to Facebook like a fish to water since it was visually appealing and easy to use. Like Twitter, which had a larger learning curve for most people, Google + gives you what you want out of it.

All suggested that Google + may be too new to fully generate marketable content for businesses. After all, if you think about it, it took awhile for that to happen for Facebook. So for personal use, Craig Kannalley suggests starting small, by linking to friends and family first. This was easy since I am on most Gmail lists, so anyone who had my gmail account was able to reach out first. Similar to how Facebook started to work when you were able to reach out to people you didn't know but had common interests, Google + can provide the same cushion. The circles can be helpful in organizing your interests, and providing interesting content (which was another thing David All suggested, for engaging others in your circles). The common thread is to provide and filter interesting content to your masses.

The biggest piece of advice is to not treat Google + like Facebook. Christine Trapolino suggests that if you don't follow people you don't already know, you're going to get bored. How many times have I suggested that Facebook has jumped the shark by seeing the same filter of friends administering the same content or similar thoughts over and over again? I can get that from Twitter during a sporting event, as an example. And in a more digestible fashion.

While you love your friends and family, chances are, you might get a little bored with the trappings of it. Trapolino says if you engage with users you don't already know, you are getting a fresh perspective on passions or things you might not have even thought about.

Lastly, this Mashable column has it pretty much laid out in its aptly titled "Google Plus Guide" by Ben Parr. It's taken all the guesswork out of Google + and has given it to you in lay terms.

Most of all, Google + doesn't seem to be going anywhere, so I am not quick to discount it just yet. I mean, if I'm taking a Facebook vacation in order to understand it better, chances are it's going to be something I might grow to like better, kind of like when I liked Facebook better than MySpace, now Twitter in some ways better than Facebook.